


Wishing Well

by First_Duchess



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, CoS Fix It, Depression, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Happy Ending, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 12:44:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20291665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/First_Duchess/pseuds/First_Duchess
Summary: “Tell me, what do you have to pay the price?”





	Wishing Well

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my oh my! I can't believe RoyEd Week 2019 is almost done! Here is my day 6 submission for the prompt of "wish".
> 
> This was so fun to write despite taking so long.  
Enjoy!!

“I think it’s called a ‘wishing well’, brother.”

Edward looked over towards his brother and then towards the modest fountain in the middle of the town square. It was not overly large, but intricately carved, featuring many angels with wings and halos, bouquets of flowers, and clouds that some angels rested upon. It was simply formed with stone, but the pattern in the bottom of the fountain was mosaic tiled with turquoise pieces, dark bits of tanzanite, and highlighted with gem silica. All in all, it was the perfect aura to be put with the simple fountain.

“It’s a fountain though.”

Edward snorted at his brother’s perplexity, “Trust me, there’s a lot more to this world than people interchanging ‘fountain’ and ‘well’.”

On the search for the bomb that had came from their world, Ed and Al had been travelling around with a band of Romans. They had circled around an area outside of Berlin and ultimately returned to Munich to do some local investigations. It was hard considering they had no other way of receiving information. It wasn’t like being apart of the military back in their own world. They were nobodies here. Just regular civilians. At first, it was difficult to come up with a backstory for their random appearance in this city. Edward in particular got a lot of attention as blonde hair and light eyes such as his were not a common occurrence.

He was cut out of his thoughts when said baby brother dug into his pocket and triumphantly pulled out two Reichsmark coins that had just began circulating through parts of Germany as new currency. His brother handed him one and gave a goofy grin, “Why don’t we make a wish together, brother? I overheard from a group of girls and it’s not different here. Remember, if you tell your wish, it won’t come true!”

“Al, that’s not particularly scientific.”

His brother snorted, “C’mon Ed, live a little.” Al closed his eyes and smiled before flipping his coin into the fountain water.

Edward raised a brow, “And what did you wish for?”

“I just _said_, brother, we can’t tell each other!” Alphonse huffed and sat on the bench, eating a pastry he had picked up. “Go on, do yours.”

Ed stared at the coin in the palm of his prosthetic hand and looked towards the water, frowning. What he didn’t like about wishing is that you’re sort of expected to wish for things that are sort of attainable. If you wish for things that can not or will not happen, then you’re just setting yourself up for failure. The problem here is that Edward had no desire or wish for anyone or anything that was even feasibly attainable.

He flipped the coin between his fingers before tossing it into the fountain with a sigh.

_I do not regret my decision to come here to find that bomb and do away with the Gate between these two worlds, but I dearly wish to go home. No, scratch that. I do not need to go home. There is no home no matter where I go. I want my home to come to me._

Edward had not put much thought into his own inner workings prior to Alphonse coming through the Gate to join him. Now that he had Al and was not stricken with worry, he had bouts of being able to think or daydream as he liked. It was true, his home did not exist no matter which side of the world he was on. He and Al had burned their house to the ground, and even though that was only physically speaking, he truly didn’t feel like he had a home at all, not even with the Rockbell’s. He wasn’t going to lie and say that he believed his home was with Winry. That just wasn’t it. It didn’t cut it—it didn’t _satisfy_.

What did, though, were his thoughts of his past superior officer, and it made his heart ache in his chest until he debated cutting it out.

Alphonse mentioned running over to the cart down the street for another pastry (Al seriously ate more than he did now) before taking off. Edward sat with a huffed sigh and rubbed his neck, watching some birds peck at crumbs of bread on the ground that were thrown out by two small children standing next to the fountain and the bench he was sitting on.

It had never even occurred to him that one day his feelings of animosity, anger and downright annoyance towards the Colonel, wait, _General_ Bastard would turn into a longing for intimacy and relationship. It wasn’t until he had settled down one night after coming back to Germany that he really felt his heart throb with sadness over things he would no longer get to experience. Petting Den, bantering with Winry, Pinako’s wisdom.

On that list was interacting with Mustang.

He had dreams now, although he almost dared to call them nightmares. They were of instances that had not happened, could not or would not happen. But god did he dream them anyway. His selfishness only really wrangled him in his sleep, and at those times he dreamed of going back through the gate and just hoping maybe it _wasn’t_ destroyed on the other side. Walking from that underground deserted city up to the surface, to the capital building of Central, to Mustang’s office, to in front of his desk, and vomiting the feelings out of his chest for the man.

Alphonse trotted back over to him and sat down, handing him a strawberry-filled pastry (his favorite). “Whatcha thinking about, Ed?”

“Nothing really, Al.” He responded sullenly. “Nothing at all.”

* * *

“Sir, you really should eat something.”

Mustang had been reinstated to his former rank of Brigadier General following the aftermath of…whatever it was that transpired where Edward magically appeared out of thin air through a hole in the ground. He had been put in place of restoring the city, rebuilding, fixing roadways. He had been doing his duty. The negative end of this was he was neglecting himself because he once again felt just as he did when he was up north for those two long years. He saw his own reflection in the window. It was raining and the clouds were dark and angry, and it gave him a chance to see himself. Roy kept his hair shaggy over his eyepatch though still retained less of a mop around the rest of his head, similar to how it was back before the coup on King Bradley had occurred. But he knew he didn’t appear to be himself, at least deep down. His eye no longer held the burn for justice. Roy had pale skin to begin with, but now it was teetering on the ill side, and he was starting to thin out in the face. He kept his gloves, sure, because they were a security blanket, but he still felt nauseous over using flame alchemy. Roy used it on That Day for protecting the people around him, for protecting the Elric brothers, protecting _Ed_.

When Roy saw Edward for the first time after those two lonely years, he felt instantly rejuvenated, on a sugar high, like he had too much coffee and no food or water. Ed had _matured_, gained a couple inches, lost some of his youth in his face, yet his eyes were brighter than ever. His humor had kept as did the snark. Even if the only comment he personally received was about his eyepatch covering his mouth, Roy still didn’t regret making the decision of returning to Central on That Day. His one regret was biting his tongue and not following after Alphonse when he jumped from the detached part of the aircraft wing. It would not have matched his character, after all, and he did not want to impose on the brothers’ reunion. It was them that mattered, not himself. But now that a year had passed since that instance, Roy had lost his desire to continue his life as he saw it, and he no longer cared to keep up with what he destined himself to do. Not very often had he ever allowed himself to be selfish, and now creeping up to his 30th birthday in a couple days, he decided that maybe it was time to gift himself something he wanted and, possibly, could theorize for himself to deserve.

“Sir, are you listening?”

Roy turned and did not make any effort to put on a front over blatantly ignoring his subordinate, “No, I’m afraid not. What were you saying?”

“I believe it would be in your best interest to eat, sir.”

He locked eyes with his hawk, catching her concerned stare that could easily be confused with irritation and, honestly, probably was filled with that, too. Roy had her promoted to Major after his return. A two-rank jump was almost unheard of, however he insisted since she essentially held their section together like glue after he ran off. If he could, he would give her the title of Brigadier General. She was more cut out for it. Even if he could, she would not accept. She vowed to be behind him to watch his back, and that was where she planned on staying.

He felt guilt when he looked at her. Roy knew that if he up and left, she would be angry with him, disappointed even, at him giving up his work and possibly his life for going to the unknown. Hawkeye was there for _him_, saw potential in _him_, and if he was gone, who would it be next? He didn’t know.

A part of him, the sinful part, dared to admit that he also did not care anymore. He had not lived for himself in going on three years now, and he was tired of it. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

“I’m afraid that I am not hungry, Major. However, I do realize it is your lunch time, and you are free to go and do as you please.”

The hawk stood her ground, eyes unwavering, “Permission to speak freely sir?”

“Permission granted, Major.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

Roy mulled it over for a few moments, “Ah, I believe it was last night, say around eight o’clock?”

Hawkeye’s straight-line expression now turned into a frown, “And you’re telling me you are not hungry? Are you well, sir?”

As much as he disliked doing so, sometimes there were things he did not wish to disclose, even to his closest subordinate. He straightened his shoulders and narrowed his eyes, “I believe that I know when I am or am not hungry, Major Hawkeye. Are you suggesting that I cannot look after myself?”

“Not at all, sir.”

“You are dismissed.” He sat down in his chair and turned, feeling what was no doubt a pair of angry amber eyes on the back of his head, and he heard her uniform make noise as she saluted before she turned on her heel and exited his office, shutting the door with a soft click. He looked over his shoulder, ever so happy that she always remembered to lock it upon exit, and he reached in his drawer for a lockbox. He pulled the key out from his pocket and opened it, removing its contents.

On the very top was a picture of him and Maes after they graduated from the academy. He gently laid it on the desk before getting a file that contained some risky research. Despite his motivation for the greater good wavering, he still had been busy, and his energy had been put towards doing the unthinkable, what he shouldn’t do.

Cross that gate in hopes of reuniting with Edward Elric.

Roy placed the file in his shoulder bag and placed the lockbox back in the drawer. He grabbed his coat and hat before exiting the office.

“Havoc, let Hawkeye know that I have left for the day. All necessary documents have been signed and placed onto her desk for her use. I will be alerting the secretary as well.”

“Wow, Chief, early day huh?” He pulled out a cigarette to light it, only to get a glare that said, ‘I’m not gone yet, put it away’. “It’s only noon.”

“I have pressing matters to attend to. Give my regards to the rest of the team as well.” Roy walked past Havoc’s desk and placed a folded piece of paper on it before waving and rounding the corner of the hall. Curious, Havoc leaned forward and picked up the paper and unfolded it, reading its contents.

“Going below, stay above. Traveling far, keep close. The gate’s unlocked,” Havoc mumbled, scratching his head. “The hell is that supposed to mean? I don’t have a yard gate.”

* * *

“You know, Ed, I was thinking of something,” Al said between mouthfuls of chicken and dumplings back at the apartment they shared over this-world-Gracia’s flower shop.

“Yeah?”

“When we were vacating that place where the Gate was, I remember seeing an office area to the side of that engine room. And you said that the people that found the bomb were in association with the people trying to revolutionize this country, right? Wouldn’t you think looking around there would be another good place to start? There could be clues.”

Ed frowned, shutting his book, “Al, it’s taped off, remember?”

“And when has that stopped you before?”

The older Elric gave a toothy grin. “Alright, then. Let’s do it.”

* * *

To the best of his ability that he possibly could, Roy made his way down to the underground wasteland that was Central over four-hundred years ago. He did well to make sure he was not being followed, and by the time on his pocket watch, it only took him half an hour to get down there. That meant it would still be another half hour before Hawkeye returned from lunch, where Havoc would definitely confide in her the note that he had left on the man’s desk. Riza would probably figure it out, he mused, and by the time they assembled a small man hunt to come for him, he should already be gone by then. Or dead.

Quite honestly, though, death didn’t seem like such a terrible option.

A couple of minutes wandering finally led him to the middle of the ruins where the opened gate was left. The alchemic energy had decreased significantly since it had been opened, but it was still there. Small red sparks were shooting off every now and again, and Roy could see the endless pit of deep red, almost like blood, that filled the expanse in the ground. He took a deep, shuttered breath and dropped down to the ground, going into his bag for his file of notes.

Roy had spent the past year getting ahold of any and every single high security book he could get on the gate, the Truth, and human transmutation. There were a couple times where he almost got caught, too. Even with his qualifications and rank, there were some sections that were even off limits to him. Plus, it was still a daunting task to not get noticed by Sheska as far as missing books were concerned. He was careful to not leave a single detail of himself behind anytime he went into those restricted areas of the military library.

He had notes upon notes upon notes of theory, calculations, hypotheses, arrays, and results of transmutations that have been documented. To most, it was a horrid history book that should just be burned. To him, it was likely a book of answers, or at least guidance, for him to succeed in what he planned on doing.

He shed his clothes, thinking that turning up in a different world with a military uniform on wouldn’t be his brightest decision ever, and put on dark pants with his button up under shirt that he was wearing with his uniform jacket. He ran his fingers reminiscently over his ignition cloth gloves before placing them on the neatly folded pile of his uniform, next to his notes and bag. Roy took slow steps towards the edge of the circle, looking deep within its eye, seeing the swirling storm of what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of souls and blood. Roy had seen enough of that back during the Rebellion, and it did not frighten him then.

It most definitely did not frighten him now.

Roy got close to the edge of the array and turned around, seeing the expanse of the ruins behind him, and he closed his eyes and willed himself to fall backwards into whatever abyss that was waiting for him below. If he were to die, it would not matter. This would not be wasted. He was just another tormented soul feeding off of the world, and maybe this world would do better without him in it.

* * *

By the time the Elric brothers had made it to where the Thule Society used to reside, it was plenty dark save for flickering street lamps. They took care in avoiding busy streets and stuck to wayward alleys. Edward had remembered a secret entrance through the nearby shed and chose that to be the way of their entrance as opposed to walking right through the front door.

Something in the air, Ed noted, didn’t feel quite right, and his skin was starting to feel prickly and itchy. He decided to chalk it up to nerves and led Al and himself through the dark, damp and claustrophobic space.

“Brother, do you feel that?”

Upon Al acknowledging the feeling which he was sure to be the same as his, Edward finally admitted that something was up.

“Yeah, Al, I do.”

“It feels weird, doesn’t it?” Al ran his hands along the dimly lit section of the tunnel that they had finally gotten to, frowning, his voice wavering at he spoke, “It reminds me of something familiar.”

_Alchemy_.

Edward’s blood began to heat up and his heart started drumming against his insides. From anxiety or anger, he wasn’t sure which. He knew for a damn fact he told General Idiot to close that gate. “We need to move, _now_.”

* * *

The door was huge, daunting, oppressing. It had scriptures and marks and letters and characters and symbols that Roy didn’t recognize. There were cracks, imperfections, _claw marks._ What was more unsettling was the white figure clouded in darkness sitting in front of the door, almost like its guardian.

“Well, well, well. It looks like we have another candidate here to see what I have behind these doors,” the figure said with an evil grin. “Tell me, what do you have to pay the price?”

“The…price?” Roy murmured. “I do not understand.”

“Don’t you? Well, it’s very simple…” the figure knocked on the door behind him and it creaked open ever so slightly, “You tell me what it is that you wish, and you pay an equal price to get your answer. You want to know the Truth, no? You want something unattainable, yes? If you wish to have what you want, you have to pay the price for it. Equivalent Exchange, my friend.”

Roy was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, skin clammy with cold sweat, “I’m not sure how to word this, but I want to leave this world.”

“Well, this is kind of an eccentric way to do it. There’s always a noose, a gun, or my particular favorite, jumping off a building and splattering—”

“I want to go to the other world.”

The figure cloaked in darkness stopped speaking, and Roy imagined if it had eyes it would be staring into his soul. Oddly enough, he was getting that feeling anyway. “And what makes you think that there is a different world behind these doors?”

Roy swallowed the lump in his throat, wincing at how dry and uncomfortable it felt, “A friend of mine came through those doors and then returned back from where he came from.”

A sinister grin formed on the stark-white face, “Some people call me God, but I am Truth. I know exactly what you are meaning, but you are not being honest with me. Be honest with me, and I will be honest with you.”

Roy looked at the figure, mirroring him by sitting down on the floor…ground…yellow-white space of nothing, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees, “Someone who I keep close to my heart is beyond those doors, and I wish to see them again.”

“Bringing someone back from the other side is a hefty price to pay, although I don’t recall you entering my realm via typical means.”

“Quite the contrary. I want to send myself to them.”

The figure stilled, turning his head slowly towards Roy, “You wish to give up your life, your very existence in this world, where you have shed blood, sweat, and tears to crawl out of the pit of despair that you inevitably got yourself in, just to see someone you adore?”

“Yes.”

“And who is to say you will survive?”

“So be it. If I die, I die. I do not fear death. I fear living here most.”

The figure gave a soft ‘hmmm’, rubbing its chin. “This is quite a sight to behold. I do not have very many visitors here that talk of going through my doors with free will, much less wanting to go through the doors themselves instead of bringing back what they lost…” It paused, then spoke again. “What price would you pay for such a thing?”

Roy sat there for a moment, completely at a loss, “I…I do not know.”

“Fool!” The figure barked a laugh, “You come to _my_ domain and _demand_ a favor with no form of payment? You wish to see the truth—”

“I do not desire that.”

The figure paused once more, “All the answers for what you seek—”

“Negative. I want no part in that. I do not wish to want to know more. I don’t want a burden such as that. I don’t care about all the answers in life. I’m not greedy for existential knowledge or to be omnipotent.” Roy glared at the white thing occupying the space with him, “I’m here solely on the act of love in my heart, and I wish to either go through your doors, or die trying. That is all.”

It gave a small chuckle with a wide smile, “Then maybe something _can_ be arranged, after all…”

* * *

The closer that Edward and Alphonse got to the building, the stronger that electrical sensation in the air felt towards them. Just when Ed was about to climb up the ladder and open the latch door to get into the basement of the villa, the ground shook, causing him to fall back and into Al, knocking them both over. They thankfully had enough sense to cover their heads with their hands as small rocks fell from the top of the tunnel.

“Son of a bitch…” Ed hissed, rubbing his head and standing slowly, feeling wobbly from the force he was knocked down with. His brother was slower to respond, so he bent down to help him up, “Alphonse?”

“Y-Yeah, sorry…You kind of knocked the daylights out of me, brother. You’re not the lightest in the world.”

“Sorry, Al,” Ed got Al to his feet and dusted him off. The ground shook again, though not nearly as strong, and Ed’s head whipped up towards the latch door as a crackle of lightening and thunder sounded off above them.

“That’s not a storm…”

“Yeah, I know…” Ed cursed as he hopped on the ladder again, climbing up a few rungs before hitting the latch door and with a couple of good bangs with his hands, he was able to lift it up and out of the way. He grabbed the pistol from his side that he original got from Lang when they went looking for the dragon (or Envy as it really was) and brought it up as he peered over the lip of the entrance to the tunnel. It was pitch black dark, the only source of light being some red emergency lights placed both along the floor near the wall and along the ceiling in mirror accordance. Edward let his eyes adjust before slowly stepping up and out, rotating with his pistol and his finger behind the trigger, its arm cranked and ready. Relieved there was no obvious threat, he heaved a sigh. “All clear, Al.”

Al clambered up even more slowly and gently, still off-put by falling to the ground. He squinted in the dark while crawling across the floor and, within three-foot distance, he finally rammed straight into Ed’s prosthetic leg. “Ow!”

Ed rocked slightly from the force, looking down, “Damn it, Al. Why are you crawling anyway?”

“Because I can’t _see_, you genius! Don’t you have matches in your pocket or something? You used them to light some of the hanging candles in the tunnel.”

“Oh yeah.”

Alphonse about wanted to smack his brother upside the head. For him being the older one, he definitely wasn’t the brightest bulb in the lamp.

Ed quickly shuffled back down the ladder to grab a mounted candle off the wall of the tunnel, blew it out, then tossed it up so he wouldn’t burn himself (or melt his false hand off) with it. A thud and a soft ‘ow’ was heard.

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, climbing the ladder once more. After finally getting ahold of the candle again, he lit it with a match, and could finally see the room better, as well as his brother.

He gave a small snort.

“Al, you have a bruise on your forehead.”

“No thanks to _you_,” his younger brother grumbled. Another rock of the ground and the sound of rolling thunder caused them both to get back to where they were and what they were doing. After Al got himself to his feet, they cautiously made their way from the basement to the area where the open gate was located. The closer they got, the tighter the air felt.

As they entered the wide-open room, the light given from the open gate was enough to illuminate the area more than enough. They took a couple steps forward until Ed froze, holding his arm out to the side to keep Al from walking further. Edward squinted as he saw something in the middle of the floor. It was still.

A body.

“Al, stay over here…” Ed whispered, slowly walking forward to the middle of the room. The light from above gave the still figure a haunting glow and shadow to match. When he got within six feet, he stilled mid-step, his air freezing in his lungs.

_No fucking way_.

Edward slowly sank to his knees and in the back of his mind, he heard his baby brother call out in concern, but he paid no mind. He timidly crawled, his body trembling, closer to the body, his eyes wide and brows furrowed in horror.

“Why…” he gasped, his throat having troubles moving and functioning, “…why…who…”

Edward hovered over the still form laying on the cold, hard ground, and Ed didn’t know why he was asking _who_ it was.

He already knew.

He used whatever strength he had left in his body after being subjected to shock to roll the figure over, and lo and behold, it was none other than Brigadier General Roy Mustang.

But he was bleeding from his skull, and he was cold and pale.

There was no pulse.

Ed’s mind came to a screeching halt with a realization and he yelled. He heard foot steps running up from behind him, his brother screaming, and he immediately began doing chest compressions, knowing full well if he pressed _too_ hard, the man would be dead regardless.

“No, no, no, no…” Ed muttered over and over. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Al taking out his switchblade and cutting the sleeve off his shirt to wrap around the wound on Roy’s head. After doing his counts, he tilted Roy’s head and gave two breaths and listened to his chest.

Silence.

Edward _wailed_ and resumed chest compressions. His mind was whirring so fast he didn’t know which thought to settle on first—there was the fact that Roy came through the gate, which angered him immensely because he _told_ him to destroy it, and the other thought was Roy came through the gate but _isn’t breathing_ and Ed isn’t even sure if he is breathing either at this point.

Two breaths.

Check.

_Nothing_.

Ed didn't hear anything else. Didn’t see anything else. His blood was hammering in his ears and he was shaking and sweat was getting into his eyes and he was _terrified _of the thought of his former commander dying _right in front of him_.

Two breaths.

Check.

A horrendous cough came from above his head and the body rolled, heaving in air and gasping for it greedily. It almost sounded like the man was retching, and Alphonse and Edward were both still as they watched.

Eventually, Roy shifted and rolled back over, arm draped over his eyes as he took deep breaths.

“General…”

Roy flew his arm back from his head and turned towards the voice, blinking to get his vision to focus. There, kneeling right next to him, was a very flustered Edward with tears in his eyes, his hair loose from his ponytail and bangs adhered to his face from sweat.

“Why the fuck are you here you dumbass bastard!”

Roy sat up slowly, receiving a chide from Alphonse about his head, “What a way to greet someone who you just revived.”

Ed backhanded him across the face.

“Ed! What are you doing?! He’s already injured!”

“Maybe he deserves to die, then.” Ed growled, pushing the man to the ground and straddling him, anger in his voice as tears went down his face. “How the _fuck_ did you get here! What did you do?!” He fisted his hands in the General’s shirt, which was stained with his own blood, and began shaking him. “I swear to _God_, Mustang! Whatever reason you have isn’t good enough to do something like that. You’re so _stupid_!” Edward was yelling until he was hoarse, then he doubled over, stifling angry sobs. Roy just looked at him, bewildered, though not terribly surprised by the outburst. He placed his hands softly, warily, on the blonde’s hands, giving a gently squeeze.

“I didn’t do it,” Roy whispered lowly, “I promise, Edward.”

Ed gave a hiccup and sat up, climbing off the man and sitting on the cold ground, legs crossed and head in his hands as he tried to compose himself.

“General, sir, how did you even make it here?” Alphonse asked quietly.

“Easiest way to put it is that Truth took me leaving our world as the only payment for coming here.”

“That’s bullshit,” Ed spat.

Roy gave him a somber look, then moved his gaze to Al, “I sat with Truth and explained to him that instead of pulling something from the other side of the gate, I just wanted to put myself through it. He asked for my reason and was satisfied enough to send me on my way.” He rubbed his head, wincing, “I suppose the caveat there was if nobody was here, I was just going to die regardless. Maybe Truth wanted some entertainment and wanted to see what the end result was.”

“Regardless, you need medical attention,” Alphonse said worriedly, standing. “Even with the illumination in the room, it’s hard to tell how deep that wound is on your head. There’s no telling what else could be wrong with you.” As carefully as possible, Al helped the older man to his feet, helping him steady himself. He looked over at his older brother, who was still on the floor, staring off at nothing with an angry look on his face.

“Brother, we need to get him back to Gracia’s.” Roy’s head whipped at the name, making the room spin, and he stumbled backwards, tripping over some uneven stone and falling.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Roy.” Ed yelled, standing and grabbing ahold of the man. “Can’t you just get your shit together…” Ed paused in his anger and shook his head. “Just get your ass up.” He helped the man to his feet once more, draping the older one’s arm around his shoulder. “Al, I’ll give you direction if need be to get out of here. We can’t take him to Gracia’s, not yet. If she’s still doing things in her shop, distract her, and I’ll get him upstairs.”

Al gave a nod. Slowly but surely, the trio made it out of the villa, down an alley to a different street, and then hailed a cab to return back to their residence.

* * *

While Al successfully distracted Gracia with his ever so sudden interest in flower arranging, Ed hauled Roy up the several flights of stairs to their apartment. He was glad that Roy was at least _trying_ to help pull his own weight. He sat him down on the couch and then flopped down next to him, mentally and physically exhausted.

Alphonse came up the stairs not too much later with a first-aid kit. “I told Gracia that you had a scrape, so she gave me this without much prodding.” He quickly made his way over to the couch. “I suppose it helped that my overcoat covered my torn sleeve, otherwise I think there would have been no way of talking myself out of that one.”

“Gracia…” Roy mumbled, hissing as Al touched his wound a little too close. He mumbled an apology.

“Yeah,” Ed said gruffly, “everyone in our world has, or had, a counterpart here. My counterpart died when I arrived. Same for Al, and now same for you. They’re pretty similar to who you know, but with small differences.” He stretched himself out a little on the couch, “For example, Hughes works for the police force, but him and Gracia aren’t married. They actually just started dating recently.”

Roy nodded slowly, cursing under his breath when Al applied an alcohol-soaked gauze to his head, “So…I guess in some form or fashion, my “other self” paid the price of me coming here by dying.”

“Pretty much.”

The room fell into silence aside form the occasional hissing of pain and the subsequent muttered apologies. Eventually Roy’s head was clean and dressed. Al heaved a sigh of relief.

“The good news here is that it’s actually not that deep, or large. The head bleeds really easy, so it always looks worse than it actually is.” He started cleaning up the area. “I’m heading to bed now. I suppose you two have more catching up to do than I do.” With that, he retired to his room.

The two left on the couch fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes before Ed spoke, “You can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He got up to go to the closet for spare blankets when a hand caught his wrist.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” A broken voice asked quietly.

Ed stood still, not speaking, before snatching his hand away. “My room is on the left, opposite of Al’s. Our bathroom is at the end of the hall.”

“Ed—”

“Look, Mustang,” Ed glared, “I don’t know why the fuck you’re here, but it pisses me off. Get some sleep, wake up, wash up, eat, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow, alright? Now go take my bed before I change my mind.”

Roy looked at him pitifully before doing as he was told, making his way to the room and flopping down on the bed.

Sleep took him easier than he thought it would.

* * *

Roy awoke to the smell of coffee and bacon, and he had never felt more compelled to get out of bed until that moment.

His head throbbed terribly, and he almost didn’t get across the room without falling, but he successfully opened the door and wobbled his way down the hall. Edward was sitting at the table, reading a book.

_He didn’t even sleep_. Roy guessed easily since Ed’s hair was a complete wreck, coming out of its ponytail even more-so than the night before, and while he had changed out of his bloody shirt, he still had on the same pants.

As if Edward could hear his thoughts, he looked up at him, a slight frown crossing his features, “And he wakes from the dead again.” He snorted at the look Roy gave him, “It’s half past noon. C’mon, sit and eat.”

Roy wobbled once more to the table, almost knocking over the chair he grabbed in the process since he was trying to steady himself. Edward paid him no mind, turned around fixing him a cup of coffee and putting some food on a plate for him. Ed sat it down for him and he muttered a small ‘thanks’ before taking a bite. It wasn’t impressive, but it would do, and considering he hadn’t remembered the last time he had eaten, it was fine enough for him.

“You look like shit.”

“I suppose you would, too, if you fell from the sky and almost died on a stone ground.”

Edward wasn’t amused, “You know what I’m trying to say. The fuck got into you?”

Roy chose to put food in his mouth to put off answering. Unfortunately, that just meant Ed was going to keep talking, “If you did _anything_ like I thought you did, I swear you’re going to wish you were dead by the time I’m through with you.”

“I didn’t do anything, Edward, now stop chastising me about it.”

“I can chastise you all day fucking long if I want to, you idiotic prick! Why the hell are you even here?”

Roy took a sip of his coffee and gave Ed a hard stare before resuming his meal, and if it wasn’t for the situation, he would be laughing at how angry the blonde looked.

“What, you think you need to be the hero or something? Al and I are _fine_, thank you, and we don’t plan on coming back just because you moseyed your dumbass into this world.” He received no change in Mustang’s expression, which made him feel more irritated. “And don’t you understand you can’t even go back right now? I can’t even grasp how you got here, let alone how you planned on returning, so you kind of fucked yourself—”

“I don’t plan on going back.”

Ed’s words died on his tongue as he looked at the older man, _really _looked at him. Despite the dressing of his wound in his hair, his black locks looked neglected. Roy in general looked worse for wear. He had dark circles, ghostly pale skin, and even though he had high cheekbones to begin with, he had lost some of the roundness in his cheeks. Ed channeled his concern to spitfire anger. Because really, it was all he knew.

“So you gave up your dream for this?”

And Ed wish he could have reacted faster, because Roy had his hand fisted in his shirt, yanking him forward to meet him with an icy stare.

“You don’t even know what the fuck you’re talking about. You haven’t even _asked_. Genuinely asked me _why_ I’m even here. _You_ don’t even know what _this_ is!” He shouted. “Feel free to be angry at me, but _don’t_ ridicule and belittle my coming here without even having the fucking sense to _ask_.” He shoved Ed back into his chair, and the blonde rocked slightly with the force.

Ed stared, shaken by the anger that he roused out of the older man. “Mustang, I—”

“Can it.” Roy snapped, and the two were interrupted by Alphonse coming through the door.

“Hey, I’m back—oh! General, you’re awake!” Al trotted over with the few bags he had, setting them on the floor and pulling out a bottle. “I figured you wouldn’t be feeling too wonderful, so I ran out and picked up some pain reliever while I got groceries.” He sat the bottle on the table before turning to his brother. “Gracia needs some help getting things from further in town, so I volunteered. I’ll be back later today, ok?” Ed nodded and Al gave him a half hug before running back out the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Edward could hear him running down the hall to the stairs.

He turned towards Roy, taking him in and sighing, “Alright, I’m sorry. I’m insensitive when I’m angry.”

“You don’t say.”

“Regardless,” Ed said through gritted teeth, “I should be more hospitable towards you considering the state you’re in. Al got you some clothes earlier this morning. We couldn’t get much, but it’s something at least.” He nodded towards the couch where a brown paper sack was. “Take those and go shower.”

“Edward, in all honesty, I don’t think I could stand in a shower even if I wanted to. Not confidently, anyway.”

The look he received was laughable. “What, you need a supervisor?”

“Yes.” Roy said point blank, and Ed dragged his hand over his face.

It wasn’t too terrible—Ed just stood against the sink counter while Roy washed himself up. He was glad that their shower curtain wasn’t see-through, otherwise there would be no telling how this whole scenario would go. A couple of times, Roy did threaten to topple over, but he was able to regain his footing on his own.

“Would it be possible to get a cloth for my head?”

“I s’pose,” Ed muttered, reaching under the sink for a rag to hand him. He tossed it over the shower curtain rail.

“Not really what I meant.”

“You didn’t specify.”

The rest of the showering process was silent until he heard the water cut off. He reached next to him to grab a towel and turned back to the shower to see Roy standing, dripping wet and _naked_ like the day he was born.

Ed would never admit it, but he _shrieked_.

“The fuck, Mustang?! Who the shit opens the curtain like that when someone else is in here?!” He hurled the towel at the man, except his aim was off and instead of throwing it lower, he threw it higher, meaning it didn’t cover up the parts he intended it to. “Close the damn curtain!”

“Ed, no need to be so embarrassed,” Roy muffled from behind the towel before removing it from his head and toweling himself dry. “We’re all adults here.”

Ed’s eyes were behind his hands. His face was flaming red, he just _knew_. “Yeah, but it’s not like I really expected to just turn and see you completely bare.”

“What, did you expect me to shower with clothes _on_?”

Edward swore he was going to murder the bastard.

* * *

Roy was able to get himself dressed without much trouble, and Edward assisted with making sure his wound was dressed well enough. The blonde excused himself for a shower as well, so Roy made himself comfortable on the blonde’s bed. After all, he was given permission to sleep there, so why not nap there?

He felt movement near his legs and cracked his eye open, yawning softly. Edward was sitting at the foot of the bed near the edge, dressed in loose pants and a loose shirt, his hair down and still slightly damp.

“Hey,” the younger man mumbled softly.

“Hey yourself,” Roy responded, sitting up.

“Look,” Ed sighed, “I came off as really shitty towards you, ‘cause I was angry n’ shit, and I’m sorry for that. I don’t think I’m necessarily angry as much as I am just really confused.”

“Understandable.”

Ed opened his mouth, then shut it, looking away, “So…why did you leave our world, anyway? You had a goal to get to, at least I thought…”

“Honestly? You.”

Ed’s head whipped around so fast he almost got whiplash. “Wha—”

“Ed, I came through for you. Not to bring you home, but to _be here_ with you. Maybe it sounds out of character for me, but I don’t give a damn about that anymore.” Roy grasped one of his hands in his own, “Those two years after you disappeared? I spent my time in isolation, up north. I retired my rank, resigned myself to an abandoned outpost. I thought it was guilt, but it wasn’t just that. My heart was _torn apart_. When I was first told that you couldn’t be located, that Al had returned home in the flesh and you weren’t by his side, I was a wreck. I didn’t sleep or eat. I didn’t come to work. Eventually I put in my paperwork and took off near Drachma.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“When you randomly popped up back in our world in your whirling tornado version of glory, I finally felt like myself again. And when I had to watch you turn your back for something that I _knew_ I couldn’t convince you otherwise of, it was like my heart was shattered. All the breath I had left my lungs. My compass was spinning, and I no longer had direction. I took back my rank as it was offered to me and dedicated my energy to cleaning up the mess that was Central. But it wasn’t enough. I started slipping back. I stopped sleeping, I stopped eating. Hell, the bacon and toast you made me? That’s the best version of a meal that I’ve had in about a week. Otherwise I was surviving off coffee and _maybe_ a roll from the mess hall. I had no drive. I had no desire to better myself. I knew there were others out there that deserved what I had more than myself. I got to my spot by genocide, murdering innocent people, obeying orders that I _knew_ weren’t right but had no choice to follow. I spent years atoning for my sins, and what did I receive? Losing a person that was dearest to me. And I’ll be damned if I don’t actually show some sense of selfishness in this regard. I’m not getting any younger, Edward. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life living a miserable, senseless path that left me devoid of any happiness. My happiness, Ed, stemmed from you. And after you came storming back into my life a little over a year ago, I fully realized what my drive was. What my calling was. It wasn’t any longer dismantling the corrupt government—Grumman is taking care of that now. You can turn me down, cast me out, throttle me within an inch of my life, I don’t care. I got to see you again, and now I can die with no regrets, wondering about all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could have been’. My life isn’t worth existing in without you, Edward Elric.”

Edward shook his head, opened his mouth to respond, wanted to say _you’re so full of shit_, but all of that halted when Roy leaned forward and put his mouth on his own.

And from there, it was like a snowball rolling down hill, gaining more and more momentum as it rolled.

All of their feelings, their desires, their hidden away wants and needs came flooding to the forefront like a rising tide. They became engrossed with one another. Hair, eyes, skin, lips, teeth, fingers. Any and everyway to get physical confirmation that this was _real_ was being exalted and abused, and neither of them could get enough.

Eventually Edward found his way into Roy’s lap while the man was leaning against the wall. They were a mess of lips, tongue and teeth, years of feelings pouring from them like a waterfall. Roy’s hands were full of golden strands and Ed’s was tightened in the collar of his shirt, pulling him flush against him, scared that if he dared pull away this would all cease to exist.

Slowly Ed’s hands crept up to the man’s face, feeling the stiff cloth that was his eyepatch, and the man beneath him stilled, pulling away slowly and locking eyes with him. Roy reached his hands back behind his head and undid the simple knot, pulling the fabric away from his face, fully revealing himself and the scars he endured to get to where he was at this moment.

Ed’s breath left him as he leaned forward and peppered Roy with kisses—one on his forehead, one on each cheek, one on his nose, his chin, his scar, and finally his lips.

Roy’s control was out in an instant.

He yanked on Ed’s shirt and the man removed it without much hesitation. Roy dove right in, licking and nibbling trails along the now exposed shoulder, neck and collarbone. Edward was singing in his lap, mumbling praises and carding his fingers gently through is raven hair, ever so mindful of the wound still on his scalp. Roy nuzzled the juncture of his shoulder and neck, inhaling deeply, taking him in, filling his senses with Edward and nothing _but_ Edward. His mouth reached his port, still securely attached the auto-mail that he received when coming home last, and he licked languidly around it. Salt, metallic, a taste that was inherently jut _Ed_ exploded on his taste buds, and the man above him began quivering, his knees tightening on either side of his hips.

“R-Roy…” Ed was breathless, and how could he not be? This was intense, completely unreasonable, so immensely incomprehensible that his wish from that damn fountain was coming true. He ran his hands to Roy’s shirt, undoing the buttons with trembling fingers. “I…I w-want…”

Roy captured his lips again, helping Ed with the buttons on his shirt. They were both too hot, too needy, aching too much inside and out. The desire to melt into one another was exponential, and the crackle of lightening that glazed over their skin when they touched was more overwhelming than any performance of alchemy that either one of them had accomplished. When Ed started rocking his hips shyly, unsure of whether or not it was to be done, Roy’s eyes threatened to close and roll back. Instead he opted to coax the man to lay down, hovering over him and laying his love onto him like it was the last thing he could do before leaving the planet.

Roy’s mouth found a nipple and laved at it, gave it plenty of attention, feeling Ed’s body twitch and tremble below him like something was about to break loose. A flush was painting the blonde’s features as if he was kissed by too much sun on a warm day. His mouth continued lower, across a toned stomach and slender waist to the waist of his pants. Ed lifted his hips as an answer before the question needed to be spoke, and Roy slid his pants down, wonderfully surprised that Edward had forgone underwear.

He mouthed, kissed, bit, _loved_ every inch and centimeter of Ed’s body like it was his lifeline. His hip bones, his inner thighs, down his legs. Each leg. Pressing soft kisses of acceptance, happiness, eternal gratitude along the metal leg. And Ed had to keep himself from shedding tears at the amount of intense feeling that was being showered upon him. Part of his mind, however, wished that Roy would give him that attention elsewhere.

And the man answered his prayers easily. Roy mouthed a path back up his legs to his hard cock, leaking freely with need and want. One smooth lick along the thick vein had Ed cursing all seven hells. Ed made the mistake of looking down, locking eyes with Roy, each of them refusing to break the gaze as Roy slowly took Edward into his mouth, swirling his tongue and going down, _down_, until the tip of Ed’s dick hit the back of his throat. And Edward was a goner after that. The touch, the sensation, the look coming from that deep onyx eye was too much for his already rattled senses to handle, and he came without much of a warning, shoving his knuckles to his mouth and biting hard enough to draw blood and his orgasm blazed through his body like a train with no brakes.

Some drifting though in the back of his brain mentioned that what he did wasn’t very polite of him, though Roy didn’t seem to mind. The damn bastard swallowed it _all_ and tasting himself on the man’s lips had his cock twitching with new found interest. He didn’t want to taste himself now, he wanted to taste Roy.

“I-I want to, too.”

Roy gave him a heartwarming smile, “And I, as well. However, I’m going to keep riding this selfishness for just a little while longer. Do you happen to have something to aide in that?”

Ed’s face flushed dark and he nodded, reaching into the bedside table for a small bottle that he saved for particularly lonely nights. In a quick blur, the rest of Roy’s clothing was discarded to the floor, and Edward choked on saliva with sheer want.

Roy was bigger than he was, he had figured as much truly, but he was also bigger than Ed actually _expected_. He had fantasized, wet dreamed, lewdly touched himself to the thought, but those moments didn’t compare to the real thing. It was hard, red, thick, and looked heavy. Ed grabbed Roy’s cock without thought and the man above him thrusted into his fist unabashedly, moaning softly. Ed’s own was now half-hard, and the more he stroked and touched and pulled those sounds from Roy, the hotter he began to feel.

Roy gently nudged his legs apart with his hands, kissing lightly on both knees, and Ed wanted to just cry over how tender this man was being. Roy warmed some of the liquid from the aforementioned bottle between his fingers before slowly running it along Ed’s hole, eliciting a shiver and confused sound.

“If this is not alright, please let me know.” With that, Roy slowly pushed in a finger, and he bit back a groan at how tight Ed was. He rotated the finger gently, touching as much as he could, getting him as loose as possible before inserting another finger. This time, it pulled a hiss from Ed, and he tensed up without meaning to.

“I know it’s hard, but relax,” Roy mumbled. His other hand found Ed’s cock, now standing at full attention, and he stroked it in time with the movements of his fingers. Eventually Ed was panting, his auto-mail hand fisted in the sheets and his other tucked under his knee, making himself more vulnerable and, for Roy, making himself look spectacularly debauched. He bit his lips, canting his hips onto those lovely fingers inside him, and then Roy curled his fingers, causing a wave of sparks along his skin.

“Oh my goddd…” Ed huffed in a drawn-out moan, head going back, and his spine arched so he could press down harder. Roy gently eased in another finger and Ed was a mess after the fact, tossing his head as sweat started coating his body. Roy leaned down, licking the taught abdomen, reveling in the notion that he was making Ed feel this way. And Ed called his name in earnest.

“Roy, please…” Roy couldn’t deny him. He couldn’t deny Edward anything if he wanted to.

“Ed, do you have con—”

“You’re my first. But if you feel—_ahhhh_, if you think it’s necessary, then—oh! T-they’re in that drawer.”

Roy’s blood ran boiling hot at those words, knowing that he would be the first to claim Edward and hopefully the last to do so as well. And truth be told, he didn’t find it necessary. He was being polite in suggesting. Nothing made him vibrate more with want than the thought of feeling Edward in all of his entirety, inside and out.

He generously coated his cock with the viscous liquid before adding some to the outside of Ed’s prepared entrance, causing the blonde to let out a needy whine, and pulled Ed’s hips to bring him closer. Roy tilted his hips up slightly, motioning for Ed to bring his legs around him, and he slowly sank into the younger man below him.

Edward felt completely undone. He looked up at Roy, eyes wide and lips parted, brows furrowed together. His face was completely flushed now, his bangs sticking and framing his face. Roy started a slow, languid pace, reveling in the warmth and how Ed fit around him like a damn glove. Better than he could have hoped, than he could have _dreamed,_ even. It took every ounce of him to not lay into Ed like he truly wanted to.

“Edward…you feel so good…” Roy rumbled lowly, rocking into Ed. “You fit around my—haahh…my cock perfectly.”

“Hnnnn, R-Roy…d-don’t talk like that,” Ed panted, eyes rolling back slightly when Roy just barely grazed that spot inside of him. “Just…less talking, more fucking—shit, _Roy_.”

Roy leaned down, moving his hands form Ed’s hips and bracing himself over the blonde. He put his elbows on either side of Ed’s head and began kissing him with as much feeling as he could muster, moaning against his mouth as he tangled fingers into golden locks and began slightly increasing his speed on his thrusts.

Ed’s legs tightened around him, pulling Roy even deeper than he already was, and Ed moaned loudly into Roy’s mouth. Roy swallowed it greedily, not wanting to let any result of Ed’s pleasure go wasted. Both of them were on fire, lava burning through their veins. The emotions, the physicality of it all, the realization that this moment was _theirs_ and nobody could take it from them spurred the both of them on, getting lost in a dance that existed since man himself. Every grind, every tilt of the hips, every thrust and kiss, every gentle scraping of Ed’s nails down his back urged Roy to go faster, to go harder, to go until Ed was positively wrecked. Until he was lost in the feeling. Until he couldn’t take it anymore.

The moans Ed was giving off had Roy getting jittery. He was feeling wound up, and he started turning his pace into one that was more brutal and punishing. Every time he snapped his hips, a pleasure-dripped moan would be pulled out of Ed’s throat. As much as Roy didn’t want it to ever end, he knew that was not realistically possible.

What he wasn’t expecting was Edward to catch his mouth in a kiss before locking eyes with him, “R-Roy…I—ah! I, _fuck_, I l-love you…”. The way he said it was so tantalizingly sweet, dripped with need and sincerity and the look in those golden eyes made Roy _quake_.

Roy was a madman after that. He slid his arms up under Ed’s arms, curling his fingers over each shoulder and pressing his forehead to the other’s before giving up all sense of rhythm, driving the both of them to completion. Roy heard his name ring off the walls, felt the hot liquid of Ed’s satisfaction coat their stomachs, reveled in the constriction of his walls, and Roy came hard and deep, moaning Ed’s name like it was his only prayer.

They laid there for a few moments, panting harshly, taking in everything that had just occurred. Roy slowly slid out, causing Ed to moan softly, and Ed immediately grappled at him, almost as if he was afraid Roy was going to disappear.

“I’m not going anywhere…” He whispered against the blonde hair, humming contently. Edward was already dozing, and Roy chuckled, quickly using a shed article of clothing to clean themselves before tossing it elsewhere and pulling the blankets up around them both.

“I love you too, Ed.”


End file.
